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7 Lesser-Known ADHD Symptoms I’ve Lived With Since I Was 5
#3 might surprise you
It’s estimated that ADHD affects about 5% of adults worldwide. Given how common it is, you’d think people would have a better understanding of how it works.
The trouble is, a lot of ADHD symptoms are all too often mistaken for just plain old incompetence. If someone’s always late, for instance, most people will assume that they’re just careless or really bad at time management — not that they might have time blindness. Same with those who have trouble completing tasks. Laziness is the default explanation — not executive dysfunction.
As a result, many people with ADHD go through their lives thinking that there’s something wrong with them, without ever considering that there might be a medical explanation for what they’re experiencing. And that, of course, opens the door for other problems like low self-esteem, depression, and burnout.
I first read about ADHD in 2019, and it was like a lightbulb moment for me. So many of my Achilles heels now made sense:
- Daydreaming
- Procrastination
- Time blindness
- Forgetting details or deadlines
- Inattention
- Executive dysfunction (this one relieved me…
